


One Step at a Time

by LadyJester1212



Category: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - Dr. Seuss
Genre: F/M, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, I’m not a certified psychologist, I’m writing what I remember from taking psychology classes along with reading up on psychology, Mentions of PTSD, PTSD, Therapy, Trauma, but I’m still trying to research on psychology, so if I describe psychological treatments wrong then feel free to correct me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyJester1212/pseuds/LadyJester1212
Summary: It has been a year since the Grinch stole Christmas. He still feels guilt about it and still feels shook by his past. What will happen when he gets therapy along with the help from his loved ones?
Relationships: The Grinch/Martha May Whovier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Guilt of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, y’all! ^^ What’s up?
> 
> I wrote this because I have this hunch that the Grinch has PTSD, so I guess you could say it’s my headcanon that he has PTSD. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing!

“Look at that hack job!”

There was laughter surrounding the hurt furry green boy.

*******

“AHHHHHH!!!!!” The green figure screamed as he sat up in bed quickly, panting as beads of sweat popped from his forehead then rolled down his face.

The woman beside him slowly opened her eyes then sat up, the scream from her boyfriend waking her up. “Grinch? Are you okay?” Her soft tired voice asked as she turned on the lamp beside her before looking at him with concern.

Upon hearing her voice, and slowly calming down, the Grinch looked at her. “I’m fine, Martha baby,” He reassured her. “I just had a nightmare.”

“About what?” Martha asked.

The Grinch opened his mouth, but found himself not being able to speak. So, he closed his mouth. “It’s nothing…” He mumbled.

Martha placed a hand on top of the Grinch’s hand. “Grinch, please tell me,” She begged. “Tell me about the nightmare, and give me a chance to help you. Please.”

The Grinch sighed. “Alright,” He said. “I had a nightmare about...that day...in class...when I was about to give you my gift, but—“

Martha now had tears welling in her eyes, knowing what he’s referring to. Her tears are not just because of that day, but also out of worry. “You’re having that nightmare? Again?”

The Grinch looked away, feeling guilt. “Yes,” He said.

“How they treated you wasn’t your fault!” Martha cried, pulling him into a hug. “Nobody should ever be treated like that!”

“But—“ The Grinch tried to insist.

“It’s not your fault!” Martha interrupted.

“But it is. If I was never born, then the mocking wouldn’t have happened,” He replied somberly. “You have always been better off without me.”

“Don’t say that!” Martha had more tears rolling down her face. “I can’t imagine life without you! Ever since that day you left, I felt torn apart. And...ever since that day you left, I was hoping you would come back. At the Whobilation last year, I was surprised and happy to see you.”

“You were?” The Grinch asked, looking at her again, but with a hint of skepticism. 

“Yes! You’ve been gone for 22 years. I didn’t think you would be happy to see me.” Martha said.

The Grinch chuckled slightly at this. “Who wouldn’t be happy to see you? You have everything.”

“Not everything,” Martha said.

He looked confused. “Huh? What do you mean? Of course you do.”

“No,” She said. “I was missing someone.”

“Who?”

Martha gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You.”

The Grinch paused, sinking in what the brunette said to him.

“You always were a good person,” The Grinch said softly.

“So were you,” Martha smiled.

“I don’t know...” The Grinch said, uncertainty in his voice.

Even though the Grinch redeemed himself last year and whos now accept him, he still doesn’t feel like a good person. He left when he was a kid, he caused pain and destruction, and he stole Christmas last year; all of that still weighing in his mind. He always even found himself wishing he could change the past. He may be good at building things, but even he cannot build a time machine to go to the past to redo all of that.

Martha saddened as she heard him. “Grinch, you can’t keep dwelling on the past. You learned from your mistakes. You changed—“

“I haven’t changed all that much,” The Grinch sighed. “I still feel like a mess. What should I do?”

Martha thought about it. But then, she remembered how Betty Lou Who, her next door neighbor, talked to her about the newcomer that arrived to Whoville a few months ago, and it turns out that said-newcomer works as a mental health professional.

“Maybe try therapy?” Martha gently suggested.

“Therapy?” The Grinch repeated. “What should I do if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll try something else,” Martha now grabbed his furry hand, holding it. “I’m here for you. We’re in this together.”


	2. First Day of Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grinch sees his psychologist. He’s not quite comfortable about attending his therapy session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, y’all! ^^ I hope y’all had a good holiday!
> 
> Sorry for the delay. I did plan on writing this chapter on Christmas break 2020, but I didn’t get around to it due to personal reasons, not to mention I keep forgetting to come back to this story. 😅
> 
> -I forgot to say this before, but since this movie was made in 2000, I headcanon that it was the year 2000 in the movie, and this story takes place 1 year after the movie, so yes, it’s 2001 in this story.
> 
> -Yes, Grinch learned how to drive.

The Grinch has been signed to see the mental health professional with the name of Dr. Lorraine Whoberg, who was a psychologist specifically. She wasn’t born from Whoville, but her parents were, and they moved out of Whoville before she was born (so she wasn’t raised by the materialistic ideas that tended to be looked at as ‘the norm’ from Whoville). She was friends with the Lou Whos, and the Lou Whos have heard about her being a good psychologist.

However, despite the Grinch hearing about how she’s a good psychologist, he still couldn’t help but feel uneasy about seeing her, his old feelings biting at him. He and Martha were on their way to the “Whoville Mental Health Center”, where Lorraine worked at. When the Grinch and Martha were finally at the center, they parked before they got out of the car.

“What if it’s a prank? What if she ends up making fun of me?” The Grinch panicked.

“Grinch, she’s not going to do that,” Martha promised, assuring him.

“If you say so…” The Grinch said hesitantly.

The couple got out of the car then stepped into the building. Once they got in, Martha walked over to the waiting area then sat in the chair while the Grinch walked towards the receptionist desk then pulled out his driver’s license and health insurance.

The receptionist was typing on her computer when the Grinch walked up to her desk. When the receptionist caught a glimpse of the Grinch in her peripheral vision, she turned to look at him before she scooted her office chair to face him. 

The middle-aged receptionist gave the green man a friendly smile. “Hello, how can I help you today?”

“Hi, I’m here for my 2:00 appointment with Dr. Lorraine Whoberg,” The Grinch said, trying to ignore the anxiety edging up in his voice as he handed his identification and insurance card to the receptionist.

The receptionist received the driver’s license and health insurance then scooted to her computer then started typing. “What’s your date of birth?” The receptionist asked.

“Twelve, twenty-four, nineteen-seventy,” The Grinch said.

The receptionist logged the Grinch’s date of birth into the computer. “Alright, and you said you’re here to see Dr. Lorraine Whoberg, is that correct?”

“Yes, I did,” The Grinch said.

The receptionist continued typing then after a few seconds, she stopped then looked at the Grinch again. “Alright, she’ll be right with you.”

“Okay, thank you.” The Grinch mumbled, nervous.

“You’re welcome, sir,” The receptionist handed the Grinch his driver’s license and health insurance card back then resumed typing on the computer.

The Grinch received his driver’s license and health insurance card before putting it in his black wallet then placed it in the pocket of his black sweatpants before he sat next to Martha. His body language was stiff.

Martha observed the Grinch’s stiff body language right when he sat next to her. “Everything will be fine,” Martha whispered. “Remember that I’m here for you.”

“I remember.” Grinch smiled at his girlfriend.

Ten minutes later, a woman in her late twenties came around the corner. She had auburn hair tied in a ponytail, has dark brown eyes, wearing glasses, and wearing a gray dress with black leggings. She was wearing a name tag saying “Dr. Lorraine Whoberg”.

“Mr. Grinch?” Lorraine’s voice (think of it somewhat like a German accent) called out.

Upon hearing his name being called, the Grinch glanced at Lorraine. When he noticed her name tag, he stood up. “That’s me.”

Lorraine gave the Grinch a friendly smile. “Follow me to my office.”

The Grinch followed his psychologist to her office. Once they got to her office, Lorraine took a seat by her desk while Grinch closed the door then looked at his psychologist’s office environment. One wall behind Lorraine’s desk was a royal blue while the rest of the walls were white. Opposite of Lorraine’s desk was a gray couch with a fern beside it and a coffee table in front of it with a rug under it. The floors had laminate tile in a shade of oak brown. On the blue walls were a psychology certificate with frames around it.

It was easy enough to say that the office felt like home. Probably to make people feel comfortable, Grinch thought.

“Please, have a seat.” Lorraine motioned to the couch.

“Thank you,” Grinch took a seat on the couch— or rather laid down on it.

Lorraine typed on the computer before looking at Grinch. “So, how are you doing today?”

“I’m fine, I guess…” Grinch said flatly. “I’m just nervous is all.”

“Sir, you know you can tell me anything.” Lorraine said.

Grinch nodded. He took a deep breath before he exhaled. “Well…” He hesitated. “I’ve been having nightmares.”

“About what?” Lorraine asked, adjusting her glasses before grabbing her notepad and pencil.

“...Nightmares about when I was a kid, in school, when Christmas break was approaching…” He sat up, now completely sitting on the couch, his body facing Lorraine, but his head turned away, his shoulders stiff.

“Go on.” Lorraine said, writing down on her notepad then looked at him.

“My teacher expected us to bring us a gift to someone we found special...” Grinch’s body now tenses up. “You see, ever since Martha and I were kids, I have a crush on her...but…” Grinch now looks angry as he begins to clench his fists, flashbacks clouding his thoughts. “Augustus must have caught on to that...because one day in class, he came up to me and said, ‘You don’t have a chance with her, you’re 8 years old and you have a beard!’”

Grinch looked up to face Lorraine, expecting her to laugh, but instead saw her expression was a look of shock.

“What happened after that?” Lorraine asked, getting her pencil ready to write more.

“...When I got home, after I made the tree angel for Martha, I suddenly got flashbacks of my teacher saying, ‘I want you all to look your best tomorrow’ that day before picture day and of Augustus saying, ‘You don’t have a chance with her, you’re 8 years old and you have a beard!’ Then...I...I proceeded to pick up the electric razor then shaved the fur off my face.”

Lorraine still looked shocked. “You shaved yourself because of what your teacher and Augustus said?”

Grinch felt like he couldn’t speak, so he nodded slowly.

Lorraine wrote on her notepad.

“And…” Grinch found his voice. “The next day when we had to give gifts to each other, I had covered my face with a brown paper bag and was about to give the gift to Martha. Of course, the teacher pointed out the paper bag to me and asked me why I was wearing it. Of course, I didn’t say anything at first because I didn’t trust what she would say to me if I told her what Augustus said to me about my fur and what she said that day before picture day, and that I shaved… because I had a hunch she would agree with him...”

Lorraine looked up from her writing, “What happened after that?”

“She told me to take the bag off, and I didn’t want her nor any of the other kids to see that I have shaved, so I lifted my binder and set it where it can block my face. Then I put my foot up on my desk before I took the bag off. Then my teacher told me to put the book and my foot down, which I did, though hesitantly. Then when the kids— except Martha— saw me, the kids laughed at me.”

Lorraine looked lost for words before she asked, “Did your teacher stop them?”

“No.” Grinch said flatly. “She didn’t. She even laughed at me too.”

Lorraine looked horrified. “She doesn’t sound like a good teacher.” She went back to writing in her notepad, taking notes of what her green furry client told her just now.

Grinch watched her. As he observed her, he was starting to get a little comfortable with talking to her. A little comfortable, yes, but still uneasy. Grinch was getting flashbacks when he was a child of how he reacted to his classmates and teacher— except Martha— laughing at him. How he reacted wasn’t the best way to react back then, but he couldn’t take being made fun of any longer; he was at his breaking point with the mockings he received in his childhood. He tensed as he was having his flashbacks.

“And…” Grinch spoke without thinking.

Grinch’s mental health professional paused and looked up from her writing. “Yes?” She asked patiently.

Grinch tensed, feeling guilt washing over him. “How I handled them laughing at me wasn’t… it wasn’t the best way to handle them laughing at me…”

“Oh?” Lorraine said with curiosity. “How did you react to them laughing at you?”

“...I threw the angel that I made at the other presents, picked up the class Christmas tree then threw it across the classroom…then I left school and ran away to Mount Crumpit. I was so angry, I was made fun of so many times that I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve had enough of being made fun of.”

Lorraine paused, unblinking, looking at him with concern.

As if reading her thoughts, Grinch said, “Looking back, I know it wasn’t the best way to handle my anger, but… but I just didn’t care anymore at the time. And, after that day...until last year, I just didn’t come back to Whoville and just lived on Mt. Crumpit by myself for 22 years.”

“Twenty-two years? By yourself?” Lorraine was shocked.

“Yes,” Grinch said. “The occasions I did go down to Whoville, I had to disguise myself.”

The mental health professional brought the pencil down to the paper on her notepad, but looked up again and said, “And how old are you now?”

“I’m 31,” Grinch said.

As Lorraine wrote in her notepad, Grinch glanced at the clock on the wall opposite him. It was 3:00 P.M. Wow, how time flies.

Lorraine caught Grinch’s glimpse at the clock before she turned to look, and it surprised her inwardly that it had been an hour when it didn’t feel like an hour. The psychologist looked at Grinch again. “Same time next Thursday?”

Grinch stood up. “Yes, thank you.”

Lorraine gave Grinch a friendly smile. “Have a good day.”

“Thanks, you too,” Grinch said before he left Lorraine’s office.

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for the next chapter, and happy holidays. Constructive criticism is welcome. ^^


End file.
